Management Strategy and Performance Evaluation of Taipei City Hospital Milk Bank(TCHMB) A Case Study
Date Issued
2010
Date
2010
Author(s)
Fang, Li-Jung
Abstract
Being an abundant source of all essential nutrients, breast milk is the best natural food supply for newly-born human babies. It can serve as the sole source of nourishment for infants up to six months, and can continue to provide high nutritional value for children until at least two years of age. In 1980, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued a joint declaration on breast milk, stating: “Where it is not possible for the biological mother to breastfeed, the first alternative … should be the use of human milk from (suitable) sources.” To this end, the promotion of human milk banks has become an important component of the WTO’s maternal and child health policy. For high-risk infants with serious illnesses who have birth mothers unable to produce their own milk, the donation of safe, germ-free breast milk to these banks is an essential service other mothers can provide.
This study was created in part by collecting relevant literature from Taiwan and abroad, and by compiling data from a vast array of sources, including periodicals on health care and public health policy, academic papers, books, special reports, speeches and Internet material relating to breastfeeding and breast milk banks, after which time the data served as the basis for in-depth synthesis, interpretation and comparison. The second component of the study was a single-case report on the breast milk bank at the Taipei City Hospital, Branch for Women and Children, which included an analysis of the bank’s developmental history and an examination of management strategies and performance evaluations. The conclusions of the study stated the following key factors in determining successful milk bank operations: (1) Direction and support from authoritative bodies; (2) Clear missions and visions; (3) Expert staff teams who can execute each step of operations in a practical, professional manner; (4) Enthusiastic, committed staff participation; (5) Ability to meet the needs of society and the demands of public representatives and public opinions; (6) Regular public funding, which allows milk banks to operate without financial concerns for limited periods.
To ensure sustainable management of milk banks in Taiwan while preparing them for future challenges, the following measures should be adopted: (1) Future milk banks should be administered on a national level and operate with an autonomous budget and independent committee supervision to facilitate more rapid, stable growth; (2) Stable budgetary sources: In addition to public funding, financing must come from the establishment of private foundations or active fundraising in order for milk banks to achieve sustainable management. Currently all milk bank funding in Taiwan comes from a portion of public hospital budgets; in the future, a portion of this funding should stem from health insurance premiums in order to alleviate the budgetary pressure on governments; (3) Aggressive marketing and promotional campaigns to counteract potential decreases in future fertility rates that would increase the difficulty in finding milk donors. Breastfeeding awareness should also be made a focus in order to maintain public support of milk donations; (4) Conduct a wide range of clinical studies on milk banks to provide via evidence-based medicine a basis of clinical care that can help promote concepts of breast milk and breast milk donations; (5) Create exclusive-use computer databases in which technical staff can input donor and recipient information that can be regularly accessed for reference during future amendments to developmental strategies; (6) Urge government agencies to legislate fixed policies with regard to milk banks; (7) Create frequent links with other nations by joining international milk bank promotion associations and participating in relevant international conferences in order to develop a clearer global outlook; (8) Conduct performance evaluations and regularly-scheduled audits of milk banks to improve quality and performance; (9) Exchange experiences on management of milk banks and satellite locations to aid the development of local or national milk banks; (10) Perform cost-benefit analyses to ensure all funds are properly spent, while continuously monitoring the calculated worth and significance of milk banks.
The Taipei City Hospital Milk Bank is Asia’s first non-profit agency to collect and store donated breast milk. Because of the bank’s hospital location, all duties are performed by hospital staff, who perform support on a part-time basis. All necessary funding is drawn from an annual special budget provided by Department of Health, Taipei City Govornment. The health care achievements of the bank are used as a tool for ensuring the bank’s positive value in the community. However, the long-term continuation of revenue-free operations will inevitably create unforeseeable obstacles for the bank. This study suggests that the bank will be better served in the future by becoming a centralized, national entity that operates under an autonomous budget and is supervised by an independent committee. Only through such a change can rapid, continuous growth become possible.
Subjects
Human milk banking
Breast Feeding
management strategy
performance evaluation
SDGs
Type
thesis
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